A Hogwarts Carol
by angrytotogirl
Summary: Professor Severus Snape despises Christmas. Will the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future be able to change his mind?
1. Bah Humbug

**Just in time for the Christmas Holiday, a silly little fic to get everyone in the holiday spirit. Warning: I came up with this at midnight last night, half-asleep and the results may be a little- silly.**

Professor Severus Snape peered down at the class sitting in front of him. What a pathetic, half-witted lot. For some reason, they seemed even harder to keep under control today. Every time he turned his back, the whole class started talking.

But of course, when he turned around they all went immediately silent. So he had yet to catch a single one in the act.

What had the students so strangely _giddy_ today? It was heavily snowing outside, but it wasn't as though the students had never seen snow before.

Was there an event planned for after the class, some sort of festivities in the Great Hall? Surely Snape would have been informed if there was something going on. They would need someone to help keep order. Students having fun could often be compared to a wild bunch of hyenas spotting prey.

So then… it was a joke. About him. Most likely something along the lines of that boggart Lupin had let out. Just when Snape thought that he had seen the last of students and even teachers laughing at him in the hallway, something else had come along with the sole purpose of humiliating him.

Snape turned around to face the board, writing out the next series of instructions in making the potion. As soon as he turned, the voices started up again.

He slowly reached up behind his back, feeling for a note that must surely be stuck there. Professor McGonagall had bumped into him in the hall. Blast that woman!

Even though Snape was certain McGonagall was siding with the students against him, he could find no note on the back of his cloak; nothing with the words "Hex Me" or something similar.

Snape stayed with his back facing the classroom instead of snapping right back to face them and abruptly end their conversations. Instead he let them continue, giving him time distinguish the voices of the talking students.

Not to his surprise, it was Mr. Weasley's voice he heard first.

"I can't believe our rotten luck- Snape's class just had to be the last before Christmas break began."

Of course- Christmas was in a week. That would explain the students' disruptive behavior, but not excuse it.

After Weasley's voice came Miss Granger's. "It is bad timing, but you have to admit, this is sooo worth it. And I don't see why you are so excited about Christmas break. You have so much studying to catch up on; it's going to be like you're still going to classes."

"Aw… Hermione, don't remind me. Let me just enjoy this while I can."

Then there was Mr. Potter's voice, dripping with the sarcasm he inherited from his father, "As much as I'm enjoying potions today, I would much rather be done with classes."

Snape spun around.

"Mr. Potter, if you are enjoying my class so much, then you wouldn't mind meeting me next Friday for detention."

There was a shocked silence around the classroom. Mr. Potter and his two friends wore identical expressions: mouths wide open and eyes wide, as if they couldn't quite believe what they had heard.

"But, but, sir…" Mr. Potter pleaded, "next Friday is Christmas."

"I don't see why that would be such a problem for you, Potter. After all, it is not as though you were going _home_ for Christmas."

"I was going to stay with the Weasleys this year. They expected me to come there with Ron on the train tonight."

"Well you should have thought of that before you disrupted my class. And as for the rest of you-"The class leaned away from him, afraid of who else's holiday he might ruin. "Class is dismissed."

Snape turned around once again to whip down the board, muttering "_Bah Humbug_" under his breath. He didn't hear the conversations as he the students filled out of the classroom.

"Can he really do that- give you detention on Christmas?"

"You have to tell Dumbledore. I'm sure he won't stand for this."

"Right, I'm sure Dumbledore would love being bothered because my Christmas holiday is ruined."

"But Harry-"

"Don't worry, Harry, I'll stay with you. I'll owl my parents and let them know I won't be coming home either."

"No, Ron, no sense in your Christmas being ruined as well."

"Think about it this way, you two. Even though this may arguably be Harry's worst potions class ever…"

"And there have been some pretty bad ones."

"It was much, much worse for Snape."

The three of them burst in laughter.

"Who do you think did that to his cloak?"

"Clearly someone very good at transfiguration. I would think- stop looking at me like that! It wasn't me!"

"He never noticed, did he?"

"How can someone not notice their emerald cloak turn bright, sparkly purple?"


	2. Siriusly Scared

The next Thursday night, Snape walked down the long, dark staircase from the Great Hall to his bedroom in the dungeons.

Lying in his bed, unable to sleep, Snape noticed for the first time how moldy the dungeons really were. How had he not noticed before?

There was actually mold in here, spreading quickly around the walls of his bedroom. And a thick mist, slowly filling the room.

Snape was well-aware that his room was below the lake, but this was just ridiculous. Tomorrow he would have to talk to Dumbledore about a room transfer. Maybe McGonagall would like sleeping down here for a change.

A figure drifted into the room. One of the Hogwarts ghosts, out for a late-night stroll. It wouldn't be the first time one of them had found their way down here by accident. The ghosts seemed drawn to the dungeon.

"Hey! You! Get out of my room!"

The ghostly figure turned towards him, and for a second Snape was really afraid. This wasn't one of the Hogwarts ghosts. The tall, skeleton-like figure with dark hair hanging down, covering his face, glided towards Snape slowly, bringing with him the mist and the mold.

"I-I-" Snape began, reaching for his wand.

"Are you afraid, Severus Snape? Your time has come…" Despite the seriousness of the spirit's words, the apparition seemed unable to keep from laughing. And Snape recognized that laugh.

"Black?"

The ghost tossed back his hair, revealing Black's laughing face.

"Did I scare you, Snivellus? Did I?"

"You think a ghost would have better things to do, Black."

"Hey, I'm not here by choice. I'm just trying to make the best of my assignment."

"Then why are you here, Black? Last I checked, you were still very dead. I was enjoying it greatly."

"Do I look alive to you, Sniv?" Black passed his arm through the wall and back again, "And I have much better things to do with my afterlife than help Severus Snape get some Christmas Spirit. But it was decided that you needed an old friend to help you."

"We were never friends, Black."

"Hey, I know that. But I was already on another assignment tonight, showing Remus what it would be like if he was never born, and it was decided that while I was down here I should help you out as well. It's not like I'm staying long, anyway. Just here to let you know what to expect tonight."

"Well, as much as I appreciate being kept awake by the ghost of my childhood enemy, I really must be getting to sleep. I've got a detention with Potter tomorrow that I'm really looking forward to."

Black scowled at him. "You are really cruel, aren't you Snivellus? You can't enjoy Christmas yourself, so you take enjoyment out of ruining it for other people."

"Yes, well, at least I'm not dead."

"Yet," Black said darkly.

"Fine, fine, I'll go along with it. Let's see how pathetic your attempts are, Black."

"Three ghosts will be visiting you tonight, Snape. Three- one for Christmas Past, Present, and Future."

And with that, the ghost of Sirius Black faded away.

"Three more ghosts, eh? Let's see how pathetic they will be. If the first is any indication-"

The words died on his lips as a bright light erupted in the center of the room, and out of it stepped an angel. A beautiful angel, with long, red, hair…

"Severus Snape, I am the ghost of Christmas Past."


	3. Ghost Of Christmas Past

**A little bit more angst-y this time, but don't worry I'll go back to (attempting) humor next time.**

"Lilly? Is that really you?"

She shrugged. "Mmm, more or less. But I'm not here to talk about me; I'm here to talk about you."

"I must say this is an improvement over the last ghost," Snape said softly, looking at the spirit standing in the center of his room.

"It's good to see you as well, Severus. Now, stop lying around. We've got places to go and people to see."

"People? I can't exactly go dressed like this," Snape said, looking down at his night robe. But to his surprise, it had turned back into his regular cloak, purple sparkles and all.

"I- I thought I fixed that," Snape said, his face turning red.

"I like it better than that green robe you usually wear. Besides, it doesn't really matter. You'll be able to see them but they won't see us. You could go in your pajamas for all they'll care."

Snape rose out of bed and came towards her.

"Where are we going?"

"To one of the earlier Christmases in your life. Back when you weren't so cold-hearted."

She reached out her hand.

"No such day exists," he asserted, but took her hand anyway.

In another bright flash of light, they were transported far away from Hogwarts, to the place of childhood haunts.

Severus and Lilly's ghost found themselves looking at their younger selves.

"Remember, Sev, the year before we went to Hogwarts? You snuck over into my backyard to get away from your parents, and we spent Christmas morning playing in the snow?"

Severus gestured at a face at the window, a little girl's face they had not noticed as children.

"The fun didn't last long."

Lilly looked towards the face of her younger sister, glaring at the two having fun in the snow. Until younger Lilly had noticed Severus outside, the two of them had been playing together in the kitchen. A few months later the Hogwarts letters would come, and Petunia would be excluded again. It would drive the two sisters apart, and nearly ruin her friendship with Severus.

"Look at your face, Severus, you're actually smiling…"

"It was the only Christmas I ever spent with you. The next year you were in the Gryffindor common room with your friends, and I was in Slytherin with mine."

"Would you like to see another Christmas, this time at Hogwarts? How about our sixth year?"

Severus remembered instantly what day she was referring to.

"No, Lilly, please don't. Don't make me relive that again."

"They were the choices you made, Sev, not me. And it's not like I have any choice in where to take you, I'm just the tour guide."

The snow faded away to stone, as Snape found himself once again at Hogwarts. This time they were in the Great Hall on Christmas morning, looking down at a table of five friends.

A teenage Lilly sat at the table, reading a book that had been a Christmas present to her. Next to her sat James Potter and the rest of his friends, comparing their Christmas loot.

Snape walked into the Great Hall, not even looking over at the Gryffindor table. As he came in, Lilly looked over at him. She grabbed a present from the table and stood up.

James grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, Lilly, you don't have to-"

"James, I'm just going to go say hi. Severus and I are old friends-"

"Used-to-be-friends. Before he called you a-a…, well you know what he called you. Now he's one of them." James pointed emphatically at the group of boys at the Slytherin table who were huddled around, whispering to each other.

"Jealous, James?" Lilly teased.

"Of Sni—Snape? No, of course not," He said, rolling his eyes and letting go of her. But still his eyes followed her as she crossed the Hall.

Lilly boldly approached the Slytherin table, walking straight up to Snape. He looked blankly at her. They hadn't talked since their big fight at the end of the last school year.

"A Christmas present for you," she said, holding out the package.

Snape looked tempted to grab it, and the older, invisible Snape wished he had. But the younger Snape noticed a bracelet on the wrist which held the present out, clearly a gift from Potter, and he heard Lucius and the rest of the boys laughing at him.

"Why would I want that?" Snape said, glaring at the present, "When you've gotten your _filthy mudblood hands all over it."_

The younger Lilly looked ready to cry, but instead she threw the present at him and stomped away. Snape noticed Potter and his friends rising up from the table, about to come over and get into a huge fight, which, if he remembered correctly, landed all of them in a month's worth of detentions.

"I didn't mean it, Lilly," Snape said, turning to her apparition, "You know how I feel about you-"

"I do know, but Severus back then cared more about his pure-blood friends and the Dark Lord than the feelings of his old friend."

"If I could take it back-"

"What use is wishing now, Sev?"

And as she said it, the scene began to dissolve, and the new one was not in Hogwarts. In fact, Snape had never been here before.

He looked around the little sitting room, to the tree decorated with tiny golden broomsticks and dragon figurines. A dark-haired man sat on the couch, reading the newspaper as a woman sat on the floor, playing with a baby.

"Why- why have you brought me here? This isn't my past."

"Precisely, Severus. This is what might have been. The man reading the newspaper could have been you, and on the floor, the boy, could have been your son…"

Snape turned away from the happy family scene.

"The man will never be anyone but Potter, and the boy is nothing to me but the son you had with him."

"Severus, if this scene means so little to you, then why do you have so many regrets about the past? Isn't this what you've always believed that you threw away? What you've always wanted?"

"Instead of the harsh reality, Lilly?" he said, turning towards her angrily, "Do you want to know who your old friend Severus was out killing this night?"

"We can't change the past, Sev, but you can still change the future," Lilly said, her spirit slowly fading away as the warm family scene dissolved, and Snape once again found himself in his cold, dark dungeon bedroom.


	4. Ghost of Christmas Present

Snape looked around the empty room, feeling just as heart-broken and lost as he had when he first lost Lilly.

Right now he would do anything to have her back, to have anyone with him to make the room feel less empty.

Even the ghost of Sirius would be welcomed back.

"Wait, wait," he thought to himself, "Let's not rush ahead and think something I'll regret. Black said there would be three ghosts. The next one should be coming soon."

Just as he thought it, the door was thrown open heavily.

"Ah, just on time. Well I'll say one thing for these ghosts; they are more punctual than students…"

Snape walked through the door and strangely found himself in Dumbledore's office. Which, he knew for a fact, was not located in the dungeons.

Dumbledore sat at his desk, smiling over at him.

"Severus, wonderful to see you. Would you like to take a seat and talk for a bit or would you prefer we just got this over with?"

"You are the next ghost?" Snape asked, sitting on a chair across from the desk.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present."

"But, that doesn't make any sense. You aren't dead…" he paused, and then added darkly, "Yet."

"Details, details. We are here to worry about you tonight, Severus, not trying to figure out if the Christmas ghosts are actually ghosts."

"But doesn't that defeat the- Oh never mind. Let's just get this over with," Snape said, rising from the chair.

Dumbledore rose and started walking towards the same door that Snape had just entered.

"Aren't you going to transport me to wherever we are going? Like Lilly did?"

"Why? Seems like a waste when we are just going to another part of the castle."

Snape shrugged it off, deciding nothing was going to make sense tonight, and followed Dumbledore through the door. But instead of going back to Snape's bedroom or the hallway outside Dumbledore's office, Snape found himself in a common room.

Hanging from the walls were red and gold tapestries.

"The Gryffindor common room?" Snape asked, confused, "You ghosts sure like showing me things that have nothing to do with me. This was never my common room; in fact, I've never been here before."

"Severus," Dumbledore said, blatantly ignoring him, "Do you see the boy by the fire?"

Snape turned around to glance over.

"Yes, I see Mr. Potter. He is the only one in here."

"All of his other friends have gone home for the holidays. Like Harry would have, if you had not given him detention."

"So I should not give students detention for misbehavior anymore, Dumbledore? Is Mr. Potter to be pitied for being a rebel, like his father? Besides, it is not like he has a real home to go to."

"Like you when you were his age?"

"It's completely different," Snape asserted, but could not meet Dumbledore's eyes, "Mr. Potter has friends. I had none."

"You did have friends, Severus. The same people who are now hunting down this boy. They will kill him, like they killed his mother."

Snape turned to face Harry again, looking at the fire reflected in his eyes.

"Will they- will they succeed? Will Harry Potter die?"

"I thought you didn't care about the boy, Severus. You said he had nothing to do with you, remember?"

"Yes, but… A little concern is natural. I was close to his mother."

"I can't see these things. I am the Ghost of the Present, not the Future. But I do see an empty space by the common room fire, and the same friends who he is missing tonight crying over him."

He found he couldn't take his eyes off of Harry.

"It can't be true. Tell me it isn't so, Dumbledore!"

As he spun around to face his benevolent employer's twinkling eyes, he instead found cold eyes peering out from a dark hood.

The room around him darkened and faded, and Snape began to feel cold snow falling on his face. But he was transfixed with the strange cloaked figure before him.

He knew instantly that this was the Ghost of Christmas Future.


	5. Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

The cloaked figure pointed a pale finger at Snape.

"Come with me…"

Of course Snape wasn't about to disagree with the apparition, especially if it was who he thought it was.

Snape followed the figure, even as he walked straight through the wall. On the other side Snape found himself in a cemetery.

"Where is this place?"

Up ahead, a light could be seen. Snape didn't need to be told that was where they were heading.

There was a grave, freshly dug. And around it sat people he knew. Fellow teachers, Order members, students, and even a few Death Eaters had all put aside their differences to come tonight to-

"I don't believe this. They are actually dancing on the grave!?!"

The ghostly figure pointed to the headstone silently.

"Whose name will I find there, spirit? The Dark Lord's?"

"Do I look dead to you, Snape?" the cloaked figure shot at him.

"Not yet," Snape mumbled under his breath.

"Look at the tombstone already so I can get back to plotting against Potter."

"Because we all know how well those plans have gone before."

"Silence! Go to the tombstone."

Snape went forward, slipping by the dancing revelers. He leaned down and read the inscription on the tombstone.

"It reads- Severus Snape…"


	6. A Merry Conclusion

**To those of you who commented, thanks! I really appreciate it.**

**Tona-Babino you guessed right on the mark. It would have been funny as Draco, too bad I didn't think of that… I got the idea for this while listening to the "Condensed Version of a Christmas Carol" on the local radio. It was the story shortened to five minutes.**

**Excessivelyperky- Does that mean if Snape is nice to Harry I can't spit on him anymore??? Aw…**

**Just joking.**

**Well just before Christmas here comes the final part. Merry Christmas to everyone!!!**

Snape woke suddenly, as though from a nightmare. He was shocked to find himself back in his bed, when a moment ago he had been standing out in a cemetery with Voldemort.

Had it all been a dream? Or was it a real Christmas miracle?

"Of course not!" he thought, chastising himself, "Not every dream means something. A bunch of Christmas ghosts, come to help me? Bah!"

He rose out of bed, and then noticed for the first time what he was wearing.

It was the sparkly purple cloak.

So it hadn't been a dream! All of the ghost… they were really there!

Snape ran out of the room, still dressed in the same cloak, and up the stairs, ignoring the shocked looks of Slytherins he passed by.

In the Great Hall a few students were sitting about, but Snape had eyes only for the Christmas decorations.

"Ah! So it is still Christmas! I hadn't missed it at all!"

A few students turned to look at him at his outburst, but Snape was already out of the Hall and running up flights of stairs.

On his way up he crashed into Professor McGonagall.

"Severus," She said coldly, and then noticed what he was wearing. She pressed a hand to her mouth, as if holding in a laugh, nodded curtly and walked away.

"Merry Christmas Minerva!" Snape shouted after her, "And thank you for the improvements to my cloak! It's much livelier now, isn't it?"

He paused at every window, just to look at the snow outside. He wasn't even sure where he was heading or what he was going to do today; Snape just wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

After all, Christmas only comes once a year.

"Potter!" He exclaimed, remembering that he was supposed to meet with Harry for detention sometime today.

The Boy-Who-Was-Previously-Mentioned was sitting in Snape's office, wondering if he could just leave if Snape never showed up. He had gotten an owl from Ron this morning, something about Lupin acting very strangely, and Harry was really upset that he was missing out on all the fun.

So far, Harry's Christmas had been terrible. Not only were all of his friends gone, and he had a detention with Snape to look forward to, but none of his friends had gotten him the new wand he wanted for Christmas. Not that there was anything wrong with his old wand, but the one he had seen fired curses at random, and was guaranteed to injure any opponent without any help from the wand-holder.

But Hermione thought it sounded very dangerous.

"You'll shoot your eye out, Harry!"

She had convinced, or threatened, all of Harry's other friends not to get it for him either. So Harry wasn't really surprised that there was no wand under the tree this morning. But still what would he do without an entirely pointless and potentially lethal wand?

Snape came bursting into the room, saw Harry, and scowled at him harder and fiercer than ever before. But if Harry did not know Snape, he would have said that the corners of his mouth were turning up in a smile.

"Mr. Potter, you are here early…"

Harry knew better than to disagree, but he silently wished he had the entirely pointless and potentially lethal wand right now to use on Snape.

Snape sat on the desk across from Harry, glaring at him silently for a few minutes.

"Your detention today is to go through all the rubbish in this bag."

Snape threw a large sack on the table.

Harry reached for it, fearing what he would find inside.

However, when he opened the sack he only found a small package, marked 'Harry Potter'.

"Sir…"

"Well, open it, Mr. Potter. Quickly now, or I will scowl to an even further intensity."

Harry ripped the paper off the package carefully, afraid of what he might find. Inside was the entirely pointless and potentially lethal wand of Harry's dreams.

"Now, I am ordering you to take that wand and all of your other Christmas presents and go immediately to the Burrow. I've arranged transportation from Hogsmeade to pick you up within the hour."

"Sir…" Harry said, completely confused.

"Go on, Harry, you wouldn't want to be late! Oh, and Merry Christmas!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice. Wait until Ron, Fred, and George saw him with this wand!

Snape leaned back in his chair, wondering how further to spread Christmas cheer today. Dumbledore always said he needed some new socks… And Voldemort was especially Grinchy this time of year. If anyone needed Christmas cheer, it was him…

Harry Potter, _who did not die,_ was heard to say later that day, "Ah! I shot my eye out!"


End file.
